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Stanford Wrestlers Fall at NCAA Tournament

St. Louis, MO - March Madness struck the NCAA wrestling tournament as third seeded Matt Gentry lost two straight sudden victory decisions. Imad Kharbush also lost both of his matches on the day, including a narrow 3-2 decision in the consolation bracket.

Gentry faced Trent Paulson of Iowa State in his first match of the day, wrestling to a tie after regulation. Paulson, ranked sixth in the nation, scored a takedown in sudden victory to win the match 8-6. Dropped to the consolation bracket, Gentry next faced West Virginia's Matt Lebe. Lebe, seventh ranked, wrestled strongly and this match likewise ended in a tie. Once again Gentry was taken down in sudden victory, giving Lebe the 5-3 victory. This was the last match in Gentry's illustrious career at Stanford. He leaves the Farm with the only national championship in the school's history and holds the all-time win record for the Cardinal.

Kharbush also fell twice on the day, losing his opening match 16-7 to Jake Herbert of Northwestern. In the consolation bracket the Cardinal suffered another close loss. Mitch Hancock (Central Michigan) won a 3-2 decision to knock Kharbush out of the tournament.

Coach Steve Buddie now returns to campus to focus on recruiting for next year's team. The Cardinal loses five seniors to graduation but a strong core of wrestlers will return for competition next year.